All Over the Map

Spazio, formerly Signature Grill, has new ownership, new teal carpeting and a whimsical mural showing the Eiffel Tower poured into a wine glass and the Arc de Triomphe with a pizza oven sticking out of it.

But at bottom, Spazio (which our wisecracking waitress informed us was Italian for “empty space”) still looks a bit like an enormous, elegant Starbucks. And the menu still jumps around the globe without much of a theme. That’s the way chef Eli Tordjman cooked when this was Signature Grill, and his food is still a mixture of French, Italian and Californian with bits of Asian fusion.

His baked beets--a Lego-like square of layered beets and goat cheese--works perfectly well.

But his tempura ahi sashimi does not, largely because the mound of rice that comes with it is so gummy. The best thing here, no contest, is the Dungeness crab cake appetizer: two crisp cakes served with brandied apples and a delicious remoulade sauce.

The limp, timidly flavored Caesar is less successful, as is a gooey pizza topped with bland, underdone pieces of smoked duck.

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Tordjman is good on pastas, and there is an entire page of them on the menu. His asymmetrical chicken ravioli aren’t exactly food for the eye, but they are chewy, flavorful and moist, with a generous minced chicken filling that keeps you coming back for more.

There’s a nice dish of angel hair tossed with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil.

The one pasta I’d steer clear of is the mushy Oriental spaghetti with shiitake mushrooms, Asian greens and way too much soy sauce.

Among the entrees, my swordfish with artichokes and capers was excessively fishy-tasting.

A better fish choice would be that dish you can get up and down Ventura Boulevard--crispy whitefish with leeks. Tordjman’s steak au poivre (in this case, filet mignon with a green peppercorn sauce) turned out just fine, likewise his 12-ounce rib eye with grilled onions and roasted garlic.

The desserts are pretty much in the classical French manner and generally quite dependable.

The menu tells you to allow 20 minutes for the chocolate souffle, but ours came in 10, and it was as light and chocolaty a souffle as we had a right to expect.

Too bad it was sprayed with whipped cream that had the texture of Noxzema shaving cream.

Lady Astor is a tuille cookie holding a nice Bavarian pastry cream topped with fresh fruit. Even Spazio’s cliche desserts, tarte Tatin and tiramisu, aren’t bad.

A rose is a rose is a rose, I guess.

BE THERE

Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; dinner 5:30-11 p.m. daily. Full bar. Parking in rear. All major cards. Dinner for two, $46-$79. Suggested dishes: Dungeness crab cakes, $7.75; slow-baked beets, $7.25; crispy whitefish, $14.75; chicken ravioli, $9.75; chocolate souffle, $6.50. Call (818) 728-8400.